


Hauntings from the Past

by ThoughtfulFangirl



Category: overwatch
Genre: ? - Freeform, Drama, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 04:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11593302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughtfulFangirl/pseuds/ThoughtfulFangirl
Summary: Winston and Tracer have a visceral reaction to the news that Doomfist has broken out of prison.





	Hauntings from the Past

**Author's Note:**

> I submitted this to a contest in which the goal was to cater the contents to the person running it. There were some amazing contestants, and I didn't win, but it was still fun to write and I generally enjoy the idea at the very least. ^‿^

It had been a whirlwind to observe, the reassembling of Overwatch—especially as an outsider. Lena had disappeared in a flash, only to return a moment later to give Emily a peck and say she'd be back soon. Lena had invariably been the first to respond of course. She and Emily lived the closest to Winston after all.

Lena had been so eager to help with getting everything prepared, but she didn't even know where to start in organizing arrivals and living spaces for those coming from out of the area. Emily had decided to help out. How could she not?

Winston's place seemed designed well enough to host several visitors, so Emily had been working on preparing rooms and stocking the kitchen.

When she'd asked about dietary restrictions, Lena and Winston had looked at her blankly for a long moment before Lena piped up. "Well, of 'course ya know Angela—keep it kosher. 'N I think Geenji," she said it slowly, thinking. She glanced at Winston whose shoulders jerked up, ' _I have no idea_ ' written across his features. Lena's head just whipped back to Emily. "I think 'e might be vegetarian?"

"Helpful." Emily had murmured, and decided she would mostly prepare perishables until she could ask the arrivals herself. Lena and Winston were more than likely to forget if she asked them to make contact with everyone coming in just to find out now.

Angela and Fareeha were the first to arrive after that, but frequent visitors that they were, she and Lena set them up at their place, which was just as well. News arrived shortly after about the Moon Colony, and Lena disappeared for a while, a shadow to Winston. When Genji and McCree showed up, it was a relief to have Angela and Fareeha help, as Emily had never met either of them before.

The group didn't get a chance to all sit down for a meal together until shortly after Reinhardt arrived. There were too many mouths, so they'd ordered out from a local deli/pasta shop Angela had discovered. It'd taken a while for the food to arrive, but it was just as well as the group reminisced and joked around as they waited, and the food, when it arrived, didn't slow that down. Emily, of course, felt like she was sitting behind a veil, not separate but also not part of it all. They all made her feel comfortable of course, but she simply couldn't joke with them about that time McCree replaced one of Lena's training guns with a paintball gun or how disappointed he was when the paint all but dripped stainlessly off of Genji's mechanical chest... except for where one shot had splattered on his left pec. It was such a pleasure to watch Lena's face light up as she remembered, her whole body doubled over in laughter, hands clamped over her mouth. "Your nipple was green for a week Genj!"

"Y'know, I was actually thinkin' the li'l lady was training with Wintson that session." McCree added, saluting his glass of whiskey in Winston's direction.

Winston opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of Athena turning on to say something made him look toward his computer. Seeing Winston was preoccupied, the others turned instead to each other. 

"I apologize for interrupting your party." Athena's voice rang above the din of the group's chatter. 

Winston, looking in the direction of the nearest computer, insisted. "It is not, a party." Lena shot Emily a look which made her grin. Only Winston would insist this gathering was work and not play. 

"A news alert has been issued. Times of Numbani reports Talon has targeted a Helix facility." The chatter tapered off as the rest of the group now listened to the robotic voice. "Inmate Akande Ogundimu, aka Doomfist, has escaped. I have accessed the article, and it is awaiting your attention on screen." 

The attentiveness of the group had turned to stillness. 

"Well Ah'll be damned." McCree's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Emily didn't look at him though. She'd been watching Winston when Athena had finished speaking. His face had fallen, his eyes haunted. "'s'lookin like the world might not be so upset after all, Overwatch gettin' back t'gether and what-not." No one replied to him. If Emily had been paying attention, she would have seen that Genji had touched McCree's shoulder and shook his head, quieting the man.  

Emily turned her gaze to Lena, hoping her luv would explain to her what was going on. It wasn't like Emily didn't know who Doomfist was—who didn't?—but that didn't explain this reaction.  
A coldness gripped Emily as her gaze landed on Lena. The small woman looked paralyzed, except that her hand was slowly reaching toward the back of her chair, almost unconsciously, where her chronal accelerator lounged across it's back. She didn't need it strapped onto her in Winston's home, not with the Area Affect model he kept around.

"What—" Emily began, but was interrupted by Winston sitting up so fast from the table chairs scraped across the floor as the force of him moved them aside. He began making his way toward the computer. Before Emily could even return her gaze to Lena, the woman was a blur behind Winston.

"Win, it's gonna be fine." Her voice trailed after him.

Emily just barely heard Fareeha quietly say, "let's give them some space." She felt bodies moving, heard chairs shuffling as they made their way to the guest area.

"It is not fine." Winston's voice carried back as he reached his computer. "Talon shows up out of nowhere. We haven't figured out their recent movements yet—what they're up to. Until we defeat Doomfist, you should stay out of the field."

"But Winston, that's absurd!"

Emily found she had made her way calmly yet determinedly after them. "One of you is going to tell me what's going on!" Emily said firmly. She didn't have to lift her voice. They both turned to her. Winston looked away first, his face contorted with guilt. She looked to Lena, who glanced at Winston for help. When she saw his look, she said, "For god's sake Winston! It wasn't your fault!" She turned back to Emily. "We fought Doomfist, just before Overwatch fell apart."

"I remember reading about his arrest. If I remember correctly, Winston was attributed with affecting it. So that does not explain..." her inability to articulate what was going on being part of the problem, she finished her statement by exasperatedly gesturing at the two of them, both hands extending out stiffly as if to uncover the tension between them.  

"Winston did take 'em in. But 'e didn't go on that mission alone. I—" The woman shuddered. "Doom, they make 'im out to be a bit mad, but 'e's not. He's... calculated. 'E notices patterns..."

A presence moved up beside Emily. Angela had remained in the room and now had come up to them, and her presence, as always, had a calming affect. It wasn't enough to break the tension, but some of Emily's nerves felt slightly less raw.

"It was the second time Lena got lost in time." Angela explained softly as she placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Akande broke her chronal accelaretor in that fight." Lena's eyes flicked away from Emily's and she wrung her hands together exactly once, shoulders tight and raised, her freckles contrasted starkly against her suddenly pale skin.

"You... never told me it happened in battle." Emily said softly, her eyes trying to search Lena's, but she wouldn't look at her. A part of her had always known that was likely how it had happened, but it was different, knowing that was the case, having a face to add to the mental image.

"Now you see why you can't go out in the field!" Winston demanded, finally turning away from the computer and back to Lena. The woman flinched, but her eyes stayed locked onto Emily's in that moment. The fear behind them certainly spoke of those nightmares—the ones she would wake to in the middle of the night, all but screaming, as if she would scream if only she could be heard. The nightmares which ended in them clinging to each other—Emily desperate to offer comfort and solace, and Lena to feel anchored and stable.

But there was something else to that fear too. She was afraid Emily would side with Winston. It made Emily's whole chest constrict, to realize Lena could argue with one of them on this point, but not both of them, and while everything in Emily suddenly screamed that Winston was right, she found she couldn't do that to the woman she loved, to the woman whose driving force was to make the world a better place. That was the woman she fell in love with; she couldn't deny her now.

"Lena," She breathed, closing the space between them. She grabbed the woman's too still hands in her own. "Lena look at me." She said, coaxing. Lena turned her fawny brown eyes up to hers. Emily lifted one hand to run her hand through the short hair behind Lena's  ear. "You know better now." She pressed her hand against her hair and rested her forehead against Lena's. "However he bested you before, you won't let that happen again, and you'll come home to me." Lena's haunted eyes bloomed, suddenly smiling in relieved gratitude.

"'Cause if I don't, ya'll bring me back just so you can kill me, aye?" She laughed. It was filled with relief, but the nerves were still there. Despite her need to be out there, fighting the good fight, she was scared, and Emily had to close her eyes for a moment or risk changing her mind.

Letting out a strained laugh, Emily nodded against Lena's forehead. "That's right. Winston and I both will!"

Winston made a sound of frustration and began moving restlessly again, this time back toward the now empty dinner table. Emily stepped back so they could watch him. She let go of Lena's hand when she saw the woman needed to follow him. Lena blinked after him, and Emily looked at Angela who still stood calmly nearby, somehow utterly unobtrusive. She stepped up to her. "That was brave of you."

Emily let out a sigh and hooked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Lena will be Lena. How could I stop her and not risk losing her anyway?"

Angela nodded. "I understand. Fareeha and I had that talk a long time ago. It could be either one of us. It's easier, in a way, to understand. What you're doing—" Emily moved her hand a bit suddenly, palm down, fingers spread, and Angela had quieted. She wasn't sure she could hear what else Angela had to say in that moment. She was still reeling a little, and she was curious what Winston was doing. He had grabbed the Area Affect chronal accelerator and taken it over to his workbench. She moved to see what he was doing with it, and Angela slipped away.

"—wasn't actively searching you out, I was working on this. Since Overwatch had fallen by the time I got you back, I hoped I'd never have to use it," he was saying. 

"But she uses it all the time." Emily said, walking up to them. "When she's at home and here." It felt silly to say, because of course Winston knew that, but the way he was talking about it  was confusing. She needed him to backtrack or elaborate.

"Yes yes. That's how it ended up getting used. But I originally had plans for it to be a backup. Something another teammate always wore or it would be stationed at a nearby point Lena could always get back to. I even made a prototype harness to wear on my person so that next time..." He had been managing a matter-of-fact tone, but as he trailed off, his eyes grew distant, as if remembering something. Emily decided not to ask; she didn't want to know.

"There will always be a backup nearby is what I'm saying." He finished firmly, staring hard at Lena.

"Oh Win that's lovely!" Lena exclaimed, with almost too much exuberance, as if she could force herself back to her usual perkiness and self confidence. "See, I knew you'd come up with somethin'! You always 'ave my back."

Winston shifted, face uncomfortable, and Lena's expression faltered, and she looked away. "I promise Win," she said quietly. "You too Em." She shifted nervously. "I'll wait to go on field missions 'till Winston's got that portable and working... _provided you don't dwaddle about with it Win_... **and** I'll be extra wary of Doomfist. Believe me, I don' want to end up lost again any more than you two do."

And that, Emily knew with painful clarity, was certainly the truth. She did not expect a restful sleep tonight.


End file.
